Ho Research Lab Cedars-Sinai Skip to content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog English English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Translation is unavailable for Internet Explorer Cedars-Sinai Home 1-800-CEDARS-1 1-800-CEDARS-1 Close Find a Doctor Locations Programs & Services Health Library Patient & Visitors Community My CS-Link RESEARCH clear Go Close Navigation Links Academics Faculty Development Community Engagement Calendar Research Research Areas Research Labs Departments & Institutes Find Clinical Trials Research Cores Research Administration Basic Science Research Clinical & Translational Research Center (CTRC) Technology & Innovations News & Breakthroughs Education Graduate Medical Education Continuing Medical Education Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Professional Training Programs Medical Students Campus Life Office of the Dean Simulation Center Medical Library Program in the History of Medicine About Us All Education Programs Departments & Institutes Faculty Directory Ho Lab Research in the laboratory of Ritchie Ho, PhD, aims to develop faithful models of late-onset diseases using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and in vivo animal models by understanding and recapitulating how genetic and environmental conditions causing disease in older adults interact with intrinsic cellular aging pathways. Currently, no iPSC-differentiated tissues mature past the fetal state, limiting their capacity to recapitulate decade's worth of in vivo pathological events leading to diseases in adults. This is a major challenge facing personalized and regenerative medicine. Prior work in the Ho Laboratory has explored how signaling and epigenetic factors regulate the transition between pluripotent, fetal and adult cellular states in both forward development and in reprogramming. Ho’s recent work has demonstrated that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a late-onset neurodegenerative disease characterized by the death of motor neurons, preferentially disrupts neuronal maturation and aging gene expression networks, thereby expounding the latent nature of this devastating condition. The Ho Lab applies molecular, cell and computational biology to gauge the fidelity of iPSC and animal models to in vivo human tissue physiology. Faithful aging models will advance the development of predictive diagnostics and preventive therapies for individual patients predisposed to these diseases. The Ho Laboratory is affiliated with the Cedars-Sinai Center for Neural Sciences and Medicine, Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Department of Neurology. Personal Statement "All aspects of my previous scientific training and current research objectives have a direct relevance to the mission of my program. I have published research on embryonic spinal cord development, signaling and epigenetic mechanisms regulating stem cell and somatic cell identity and the relationship between cellular maturation, aging and late-onset diseases. My areas of technical expertise include molecular biology, stem cell reprogramming and differentiation, microscopy and a suite of computational biology methods to analyze large gene expression data sets as well as clinical data from patients. In addition to my research, I have actively contributed service in academic roles including didactic instruction, mentorship, engagements with industry, public outreach, technology transfer and peer review. Cedars-Sinai has a rich scientific environment that provides my laboratory the necessary resources for leading-edge translational research and training." Ritchie Ho, PhD Breakthrough Research Areas Mapping the Intersection of Tissue and Cell Type-Specific Signatures of Maturation and Aging to Neurodegeneration Delineate Gene Expression Networks Conserved or Diverged Across Human and Rodent Species Engineering Strategies That Can Accelerate Maturation, Aging and Late-Onset Disease Readouts in All Systems Collaborations Internal Center for Neural Sciences and Medicine Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute Department of Biomedical Sciences Department of Neurology External NeuroLINCS Answer ALS Meet Our Team Learn more about the scientists, faculty members, investigators and other healthcare professionals of the Ho Laboratory, whose dedicated efforts lead to groundbreaking discoveries. View Our Team Publications ALS disrupts spinal motor neuron maturation and aging pathways within gene co-expression networks. Ho R, Sances S, Gowing G, Amoroso MW, O’Rourke JG, Sahabian A, Wichterle H, Baloh RH, Sareen D, Svendsen CN. Nat Neurosci. 2016 Sep;19(9):1256-1267. iPSC modeling of young onset Parkinson’s disease reveals a molecular signature of disease and novel therapeutic candidates. Laperle AH, Sances S, Yucer N, Dardov VJ, Garcia VJ, Ho R, Fulton A, Jones MR, Roxas K, Avalos P, West D, Banuelos MG, Shu Z, Murali R, Maidment NT, Van Eyk JE, Tagliati M, Svendsen CN. Nat Med. 2020 Feb;26(2):289-299. Human iPSC-derived endothelial cells and microengineered Organ-Chip enhance neuronal development. Sances S, Ho R, Vatine G, West D, Laperle A, Meyer A, Godoy M, Kay PS, Mandefro B, Hatata S, Hinojosa C, Wen N, Sareen D, Hamilton GA, Svendsen CN. Stem Cell Reports. 2018 Apr 10;10(4):1222-1236. Stage-specific regulation of reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells by Wnt signaling and T cell factor proteins. Ho R, Papp B, Hoffman JA, Merrill BJ, Plath K. Cell Rep. 2013 Jun 27;3(6):2113-2126. Contact the Ho Lab 127 S. 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